New Lordaeron Calendar
The New Lordaeron Calendar was approved by the Provisional Agricultural Commission in Year 29. Prior to the enactment, the people of Lordaeron had been using what was informally known as the "Common Calendar" which developed after the Second War. Years began to be measured by how long it had been since the Dark Portal had opened and the "Age of Chaos" began. The Common Calendar's year consisted of five fewer days than Lordaeron had typical measured with its older Dynasty Calendar which measured the years since the founding of the Arathi Empire and based the number of days on tradition. Therefore in Year 29, farmers began to push for a formal reform of the calendar system to be based on agricultural utility rather than calculations of mages and conjurers, as had been the case of the Common Calendar. Lord Hestein Mohrgan and Lord Amos Stannard performed the rare feat of setting aside their differences to press for the calendar's creation. The Provisional Agricultural Commission was formed by the Assembly of Lords to address the calendar matter. Once the calendar had been approved the Assembly chose to allow the Commission to remain and regulate other agricultural matters. Organizing the Calendar One year was made to equal 412 days which are divided among five seasons (First Winter, Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Latter Winter). Four days out of each year are not to be considered a part of any of the seasons, they are days that have traditionally been believed to hold some sacred significance. These are the two days for the Spring and Autumn equinoxes and two days for the Summer and Latter Winter solstices. Those four days are technically considered to be void of any seasonal designation and yet each of them lay inside a season. A day like the Summer Equinox would take place after a day classified as a day of Summer, for this example it would be the 21st Day of Summer. And the Summer Equinox would also be followed by another day---the 22nd Day of Summer. Therefore, in fact, the calendar seasons skip over those days. Assigning the First Day of the Year The first day of the year, was given to correspond with the date of the ancient Arathi festival of the Moon upon which the first Arathi king Thoradin was crowned about 2800 years ago. The majority of Azeroth's nations (excluding the aqiri kingdoms, trolls, and kaldorei and partially Quel'thalas) use this day as the first day of the year. The additional significance to this day is that it follows right after the Winter Equinox. The Seasons The seasonal divisions of the year were intended to mirror the seasonal changes of the Lordaeron climate as closely as possible. Nevertheless, there remains a distinction between the meteorological seasons which change each year depending on wind patterns, temperature shifts, or cataclysmic phenomena and the astronomical seasons which the New Lordaeron calendar set as a particular number of days based on the equinoxes and solstices. In written language the names of the meterological seasons are written in the informal form (lower case) and the calendar seasons are written in the formal (capitalized). First Winter (FW) First Winter is the last half of the proceeding year's season of winter but the new year's first---hence the name. It consists of 85 days and is the only season not to have a solstice or equinox. Spring (SP) Spring consists of 72 days and the Spring Solstice falls on the day after the 22nd Day of Spring and before the 23rd Day of Spring. Summer (SM) The northern position of Lordaeron means that their summers have always been brief; hence it is the shortest season by only consisting of 69 days. The Summer Equinox falls on the day after the 52nd Day of Summer or day before the 53rd. Autumn (AT) For Lordaeron, Autumn is the longest calendar season and unlike most of the world, the transition between summer and winter takes a longer amount of time as northern winds slowly build up to bring the chill from the North Sea upon the coasts. The season consists of 103 days with the Autumn Equinox on the day proceeding the Latter Winter (LW) Latter Winter is the last season of the year and consists of 84 days. It is the first portion of the meteorological season of winter (the longest in Lordaeron typically lasting about 150 days). The last day of the year (the Winter Equinox) divides Latter Winter from First Winter (the two seasons that make up the actual meteorological winter). Days of the Equinox Each year consists of two equinoxes at which time the center of the sun is directly parallel to Azeroth's equator and the length of day and night are exactly the same at 12 hours.. The Summer Equinox takes place on the 206th day of the year and from Lordaeron the sun appears to move northwards over along the horizon whereas the Winter Equinox takes place on the 412th or last day of the year and the sun appears on the horizon to be moving southwards. Ancient human cultures believed these days to be sacred and that the divisions between their world and the primeval realm of their gods was weakest. The ingesting of hallucinogenic plants to induce trances was a common religious ritual on these. By the era of the Arathi Empire, the equinoxes had evolved into feast days with some mythic or religious significance that was often overshadowed by the bustle of festivities. At present, the world tends to hold on to the traditional ideals of the equinoxes as celebrations of change and rebirth. Days of the Solstice Each year also consists of 2 solstices at which time Azeroth is tilted on its orbit to the fullest extent and when Azeroth is tilted towards the sun the Spring Solstice occurs and when tilted away the Autumn Solstice occurs. The Spring Solstice occurs on the 103rd day of the year and is the day in which the sun is out longer and correspondingly makes the day seem longer. The Autumn Solstice occurs on the 309th day and it is the day where the sun is exposed the least; therefore, it gives the impression of being the shortest day of the year. The solstices maintain cultural importance in the present epoch, which is already inclined towards notions of good, evil, light, and dark. The solstices once represented the nature of the world to the early humans in that darkness or evil would encroaching on the forces of light or good. The Spring Solstice grew out of an old Arathi festival of fertility and would eventually give rise to the celebration of "Noblegarden". The Autumn Solstice was originally associated with evil and wickedness entering the world and the day was used for rites of purification which evolved into the Wickerman festival of Lordaeron. Once humans made contact with the dwarves, the focus on evil was removed to focus of the spirits of dead ancestors, the praise of dead heroes, and a celebration of the harvest's bounty. ---- Timeline with the New Lordaeron Calendar Stating Dates The formal manner to say and writing dates follow the traditions of the Common Calendar. Saying the Year simplistically: "It is Year 31." Saying the Year formally: "It is the 31st Year of the Age of Chaos." ''OR "It is the 31st Year since the opening of the Portal."'' Abbreviated: "Y.31" Saying the Year and Season:'' "It is Spring of Year 31."'' Abbreviated: "Spring Y.31" Saying the Year, Season, and Day: "It is the 10th Day of Spring, Year 31." Abbreviated: "10d. Spring Y.31" Division of Eras of Lordaeron The NL-Calendar in Comparison to the Modern Day Gregorian Various Notes -Earth's solstices are in winter and summer and it's equinoxes are in spring and autumn. -The orbit of Azeroth is the same as Earth yet the velocity of its orbit is slower--hence how there can be an Earth-like climate but longer year. -The stance of Blizzard is that one expansion equals one year in Azeroth. This has been a source of much debate, particularly in regards to the time span between WotLK and Cata. For the sake of realism (to which LTK aspires) the New Lordaeron Calendar will operate on the notion that WotLK lasted two years (27 and 28), that there was an interlude of a year to follow (Year 29), then the Cataclysm took place at the start of Year 30, and the following events have lasted long enough that we are presently in Year 31. We can use the New Lordaeron Calendar to smooth over a lot of rough edges; however, please remember that according to Blizzard the year is actually 28. If your character hears this and they use the New Lordaeron Calendar, then should immediately know that that person is using the "Common Calendar" and that